This month, we continued to update our monthly reports and conducted some fascinating interviews. We are also welcoming a new Eadington Fellow.

We are looking for slot managers!

In 2015, a Libraries Advisory Board grant made possible the table games managers oral history project that resulted in, among other things,
Tales from the Pit. This year, the board has funded a similar project that focuses on slot managers.

If you are a current or former slot manager, GCR Director Dave Schwartz would love to interview you. Interviews last about an hour and can take place at UNLV, your home or workplace, or over the phone. Please contact Schwartz at (702) 895-2242 or
dgs@unlv.nevada.edu for more information or to schedule an interivew.

November 2016 Eadington Fellow

Dr. Jessalynn R. Strauss

In November, the Center will welcome the first of its 2016-7 Eadington Fellows, Jessalynn R. Strauss.

Strauss is an assistant professor of strategic communications at Elon University. Her research addresses corporate social responsibility and public relations in the casino industry and particularly in the city of Las Vegas, NV. Her book "Challenging Corporate Social Responsibility: Lessons for Public Relations from the Casino Industry" was published by Routledge in 2015.

Strauss's research will examine the press releases available in the Publicity and Promotions archive of the Gaming Collection. Her talk will tell a story that opens windows onto the history of casinos in Las Vegas and how they evolved into legitimate business endeavors and investments.

She will deliver her
Colloquium Talk on November 18 at 3 PM. It is called "Promoting Las Vegas: Stories and Strategies of Casino Press Releases."

For more information about the Eadington Fellowship program, see here.

Recent Podcasts

UNLV Gaming Podcasts 76

The Center's most recent podcasts:

76-September 9, 2016David G. Schwartz
"Hazard All He Hath": Shakespeare's Gambling World
In this September 9, 2016 First Folio Shakespeare colloquium , Schwartz discusses the place of gambling in English society in Shakespeare's time, games that were played, and gambling in Shakespeare's plays.

75-August 15, 2016Paul Franke
"The Making of the Las Vegas Consumption Experience in a Historical Perspective"
In this August 15 talk, Franke discusses how casino managers and personnel created Las Vegas as a center for a new form of gambling-related consumption.

74-August 4, 2016Chloe Taft
Author interview
In this August 3, 2016 phone conversation, Taft discusses her book
From Steel to Slots, an examination of the transition from Bethlehem Steel to Sands Bethlehem in the northeast Pennsylvania manufacturing city.

Dealing in a casino presents challenges and rewards not seen in many workplaces. With hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake every minute, casinos are high-stress workplaces. Managing a casino workforce brings stresses of its own. Drawn from these interviews and edited by CGR Director David G. Schwartz, Tales from the Pit provides an overview of how the interviewees felt about a variety of topics, ranging from their experiences breaking in as new dealers to their transitions to management and the changes the industry has seen over their careers. The current and former managers speak candidly about the owners, bosses, dealers, and players who made each day challenging.

Last month, Center Director David G. Schwartz spoke with approximately 14 print, online, radio, and television media contacts about a range of topics.

Get Involved

We are always seeking donations of materials that document the history of gambling and Southern Nevada. If you would like to discuss donating company or personal papers, photographs, or documents, please call or email
Dr. Schwartz

If you would like to donate money to support new book acquisitions or the Eadington Fellowship program, please visit this page and specify "Eadington Fellows" as the designation.

About the Center for Gaming Research

Located within Special Collections at UNLV's state-of-the-art Lied Library, the Center for Gaming Research is committed to providing support for scholarly inquiry into all aspects of gaming. Through its website,
http://gaming.unlv.edu, the Center offers several unique research tools and information sources.

About the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution of 28,000 students and 3,300 faculty and staff. Founded in 1957, the university offers more than 220 undergraduate, masters and doctoral degree programs. UNLV is located on a 332-acre campus in dynamic Southern Nevada and is classified in the category of Research Universities (high research activity) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.